7.2 Alaskan quake won't send tsunami to California

The tsunami warning that was issued for parts of the Alaskan coast this evening following a 7.2 earthquake off the Aleutians has been canceled, says the Alaska and West Coast Tsunami Warning Center. The quake hit at 7:10 p.m. Alaskan Daylight Time (8:10 p.m. in California.) Seismologists issued issued an informational statement for California, but not a warning or formal advisory. The warning applied to the area of Alaska that extends from Unimak Pass, Alaska (80 miles NE of Dutch Harbor) to Amchitka Pass, Alaska (125 miles W of Adak).

The warning was issued by the same center that was slow in putting out advisories for the California coast following a 9.0 quake off Japan in March. The Japanese quake was 63 times stronger than tonight's 7.2 shake. But it released 501 times more energy, says the USGS magnitude calculator.

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